When Childhood Fades: A Poem on Innocence, Memory, and Growing Up

 On fields of green where flags once flew,

A child’s laughter, a life brand new.
Sun-kissed days and firefly nights,
Unaware of future fights.

 
Mom’s love in every freshly laundered sheet,
Dad’s presence, strong and sweet.
The scent of grass, a bird’s soft coo,
Simple joys, pure and true.

 
How did we miss the golden hour?
When did innocence lose its power?
The world crept in with shadows long,
Drowning out childhood’s carefree song.

 
Now we long for Saturday’s embrace,
The dump run’s familiar pace.
For gossip’s hum and smoke-filled air,
Before we knew of life’s despair.

 
What broke us? Time’s relentless flow?
Or truths we never wished to know?
Yet in our hearts, those days still shine,
A beacon from a sweeter time.”